


farewell, sweet music

by Mallowleaf



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, High School AU, Roman Angst, and i almost cried i felt so bad for him lol, this actually happened today at my school to some kid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2020-01-05 00:39:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18355028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mallowleaf/pseuds/Mallowleaf
Summary: Roman was so focused, in fact, that he didn’t notice his teacher get up from his computer and sit down at their desk. But he did hear the sickening clanging as his teacher knocked his guitar over and sent it flying to the floor.(or: roman brings his guitar into school, and it breaks.)





	farewell, sweet music

On one unimportant Thursday morning, Roman brought his guitar into school. 

It was for a science project; he was tasked with creating a song about a certain environmental issue alongside a speech and slideshow presentation. Roman had, of course, volunteered to handle the creative side of the project while his partner - a nice girl in his class who he’d never really talked to regularly - took care of the rest. It didn’t take them too long to complete, thank god, and today was their turn to present it; Roman was glad to finally be done with the project. 

He slipped into the classroom just as a bell rang, guitar in hand. He looked around, wondering where exactly he should store his guitar before he has to use it. There was no room by his desk; they were all so close together, it nearly impossible to navigate around them without knocking into someone else. 

Roman finally decided to lean it up against the edge of his teacher’s desk. It would be out of the way there, not likely to trip anyone up. He caught his teacher’s eye and pointed at his guitar with a questioning look, asking for permission to leave it there. His teacher nodded before turning back to his computer. Roman gently placed his guitar down, patted it lightly and walked over to his desk. 

He waved at Patton, who sat closer to the back, before sitting down in his seat near the front. He fished a battered copy of his project’s speech from his bookbag and placed it in front of him on his desk. He really should invest in some folders, but it was almost the end of the school year and he was already so accustomed to just shoving papers in his bag that he brushed away that thought quickly, instead focusing his attention on the paper in front of him. 

He was so focused, in fact, that he didn’t notice his teacher get up from his computer and sit down at their desk. But he did hear the sickening clanging as his teacher knocked his guitar over and sent it flying to the floor. 

Roman’s head shot up. The rest of the class paused in their conversations, all staring at their teacher, who was staring down at the guitar on the floor. 

At first, Roman wasn’t too concerned. He’s knocked his guitar into several things before and nothing bad had ever happened. All he would have to do was retune it, and that wasn’t too much of an issue - an annoyance, sure, but Roman was more than capable of tuning his guitar. 

All he expected is for his teacher to prop it back up and begin the class. But instead, his teacher continued to stare, mouth open wide. And then he turned and looked at Roman. 

Roman didn’t like the expression on his teacher’s face. 

“Roman,” his teacher said. “I’m so sorry, but - I just broke your guitar.” 

And at first, Roman let out a short laugh. This teacher was known for his jokes, known for messing around with his students. There was no way he had actually broken his guitar. This was just a late April Fools Day joke, and that was all there was to it. 

But his teacher’s expression doesn’t change, and then he picks up the guitar by the neck and Roman can see the way the headstock of the guitar has snapped off and was hanging by the strings. The only thing holding the strings in place is the cappo he had put on a few moments before he left for school. 

The laugh dies in Roman’s throat. 

“Roman, I am so sorry.” His teacher said. He looked so guilty, so terrible about breaking Roman’s guitar that any anger Roman might have felt faded away. Roman just stared at his guitar. His hands were shaking. 

“I’ll buy you a new guitar.” His teacher continued, looking at the sad wreck of wood and strings in his hands. “It was an accident, I wasn’t paying attention.” 

Roman pushed himself out of his chair, and it scraped along the ground with a shriek, echoing around the empty classroom. The whole class watched as Roman walked up to the teacher’s desk. He silently took the guitar with numb hands, cradling it like it was a child. 

“It’s okay.” Roman said numbly. There’s a faint ringing in his ears. The rest of the class is silent, watching this exchange happen. Someone murmured something in the back. Roman couldn’t hear what they’re saying.

“What?” His teacher looked confused. “No, it’s not. I broke it. I need to replace it for you. I should have been more careful.” 

Roman bit his lip. It took all of his self control to fight back against the tears that are threatening to overflow, to spill out and betray how heartbroken he is. He just shook his head. “I know you didn’t mean to.” He said, and it’s a miracle his voice doesn’t crack in half. “I should have chosen a better spot to put it.” 

The teacher shook his head. “We’ll talk later, and make arrangements for me to replace the guitar.”

“Okay,” Roman said quietly, so quiet that his voice could barely be heard. He put the guitar back on the ground, slowly, gently, like it could feel every single scratch it got. And then he returned his seat, dragging his feet on the ground as he went. 

“Are you okay?” Someone next to him whispered. Roman just nodded, not trusting himself to speak, knowing that as soon as he opened his mouth he would burst into tears. 

His teacher stood up from the desk, awkwardly brushed his hands on his pants and, after sending one more apologetic look in Roman’s direction, began the class. He let another group present their project after giving his standard class lecture, stating that he wanted Roman and his partner to have a chance to present their full project. 

Roman didn’t even hear him. He spent the rest of the period staring down at his desk, not hearing a word anyone said. 

As soon as the bell rang to signal the end of the period, Roman shot out of his seat and fled to the door. He didn’t wait for Patton to follow him like he normally did. He wasn’t in the mood to talk, didn’t want to hear the apologies that was sure to come his way. He just scooped up his guitar gently and fled the classroom, ignoring Patton as he called out to him. 

Roman’s next class was a free, and then there was lunch, which meant he was perfectly free to leave school for the next couple hours before returning to his other classes during the second half of the school day. He pushed past people, cradling his guitar into his chest, and walked as fast as he could out of the school and to his car. 

After carefully placing the guitar in the seat next to him, Roman started the car up and drove out of the parking lot as fast as he could without getting pulled over by a school administrator or the cop that hung out around the school. 

He sat in silence as he drove home, not bothering to turn on the radio or sing whatever song was stuck in his head like he normally did. It was just him, the silence and the broken guitar that lay pitifully in the passenger seat. 

It only took him a few minutes to get to his house. There were no other cars in his driveway; no one else was home. Roman collected his guitar into his arms and walked inside. He didn’t stop walking until he reached his room, closed the door behind him - and broke. 

Roman collapsed to the floor, hugging his guitar closely to his chest and burst into tears. Sobs shook his body and he curled in on himself, trying to control his breathing and ultimately failing. 

He was being ridiculous. He knows he was being ridiculous. It was just a guitar, a lifeless piece of wood and he shouldn’t be getting so worked up about it. He could just as easily buy a new one with ease. But - 

But Roman’s had this guitar for a long time now; nearly four years. It was a gif given to him by his parents, his first ever instrument and quite possibly the best present Roman had ever received. He played it everyday, brought it everywhere with him. The guitar was there for him though all the highs and the lows, through the worst and best days of his life. And now?

Now it was just a broken husk of itself. And nothing could ever replace it. 

Roman continued to cry, mourning the guitar until his tears slowed and his breathing evened. He scrubbed a hand over his face roughly, knowing full well that his eyes would be bright red and tear tracks would be standing out clearly on his face. His grief had faded, leaving only numb acceptance. A glance at the clock showed that nearly forty-five minutes had passed. He had to get back to school. 

Roman let out a heavy sigh, voice still thick with tears, and placed his guitar into the place of honor in the middle of his room. He stood up and looked down at it, broken and pathetic. It was hard to tear his gaze away, to fix himself back up into some semblance of normalcy to face the rest of the day, but he had to. He couldn’t afford to skip any more days. 

He spared one last look at the guitar before leaving his room, closing the door quietly behind him as if not to disturb it, and headed back down the stairs, back to his car, and back to school.

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys! 
> 
> so i wrote this fic in like thirty minutes because i actually had some inspiration, for once lol. this actually happened to a kid in my class, and let me tell you it was devastating to watch. if that had happened to my guitar i would have just burst into tears on the spot lol. 
> 
> anyway, i hope you liked it!! feel free to stop by my tumblr @purplepatton and say hi!! :)))


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